Shade roller



THOMAS DIG-NEY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SHADE ROLLE-R.

Application filed March 28, 1922. Serial No. 547,412.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that THOMAS DIGNEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Bridgeport, in the county of F airfield and State of Connecticut, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shade Rollers, of which the following is a specification. Y

`My invention relates to improvements in spring actuated shade-rollers having pawl mechanism for retaining the roller and shade attached thereto in various adjusted positions.`

The obj ect of the invention is to providea novel form of construction which will better lend itself to the higher grade of rollers such for instance as are now extensively used in limousines and other forms of closed automobiles; to design an all metal roller, the sheet metal tubular barrel of which may be of any desired length and thus better 'adapted for windows of different widths, and

whereby the tubular roller may be cut off, should occasion require, to accommodate windows of narrower widths. I have further designed the roller with a comparative- 1y few number of parts and purposelyemployed heavy end members formed from solid stock, rather than sheet metal stampings, so as to insure a rigid connection and solid construction of the end portions carrying the working parts of the roller when completed.

With these and other objects in view'the invention resides and consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form proportion, size and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be restored to without departure from the spirit or sacrificing an of the advantages of thev invention.

gimilar characters of reference denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the accompanying draw` ings forming a part of this specification, and upon which,

Fig. 1 illustrates a broken sectional side view of a spring actuated shade roller constructed in accordance with my invention and shown mounted in end brackets for attachment to a window frame;

Fig. 2 shows a detached side view, as

seen from the inner side of the end-member 15 shown at the right in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, further illustrating the several details of this same endmember; and

Fig. 4 shows a central vertical sectional view of this end-member taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, the hollow metal roller being I shown attached and the roller shaft operatively mounted therein.

Referring in detail to the characters of reference marked upon the drawings, 10 and 10 represent brackets which are preferably formed of solid cast metal and provided with screw holes for their attachment to a window casing. The bracket 10 includes a threaded socket 11 in which the threaded end portion of the shaft 12 is held. The roller 13 is preferably formed of sheet metal tubing of uniform diameter cut to lengths and having a series of punched indentations 14 formed around its two peripheral end portions.

15 represents one of the end-members of the roller, which include an outer faced portion that bears against the inner face of the brackets 10. The other end-member-lO has an integral p-intle end 16 which is mounted to turn in the socket of the bracket 10. Each of these members also include an annular flange which is of a diameter greater than that of the diameter of the roller to form a guard for the edge portion of the curtain, not shown, when wound upon the roller. The end-members 15 and 16 further include an inwardly extended round hub portion 17, the diameter of which is the same as that of the inner diameter of the hollow roller thus allowing the hubs to be positioned and secured in the ends of the said roller.

The peripheral surface of these two hub portions are provided with a series of spaced apart longitudinally disposed grooves 18 which extend inward from the inner side, and adjacent to the flange I- form a pocket 19 whose depth is slightly greater than that of the groove. The two end-members of the roller are provided with a series of spaced apart indented lugs 14, the distance between which corresponds with the distances between said grooves 18 so that in the positioning of the hubs in the ends of the roller the lugs of the roller will enter the grooves and allow the end of the roller to be shoved back against the shoulder of the flange and the said lugs 14 thus become positioned immediately over the pockets 19. The indented lug portions of the rolls are then again operated upon in a way to further punch the metal inward and-to enter the greater depth of the pocket as shown in Fig. 3 in a way to secure the two pieces together.

This same form of construction for securing the end-,members and roller together is employed at'both ends of the roller for securing the two end-members. The hub 17 of the end-member includes a central hole 20 therein having a reduced outer-'end portion forming a shoulder 21 against which the shoulder of the roller shaft 12 is positioned. The reduced extended end portion of this shaft is threaded for attachment `in the threaded socket 11 of the bracket 10 before mentioned. This roller shaft'is also provided with a shoulder portion'22 that is formed by cutting away a part of the `shaft in a way to allow the roller to turn upon the shaft in one direction, but to be engaged and held by pawls23 against rotation in the opposite direction. A

ADiagonally Voppositely positioned ears 25-25 are formed on thel inner side of the larger end-member 15, each being provided with a hole 24 through which the end portion of a tortional spring 26 is threaded and attached for securementof'that end portion of the spring to the hub andv roller. The other end portion of the spring is of smaller diameter and is secured to the shaft as shown at 28 or in any other suitable manner such as soldering. mounted in a collar 29 that is properly positioned in the roller and secured by an indented lug 30.

The end-member 15 also `serves to carry the pawls'23 which are slidably mounted in radially positioned holes 27, the said holes being of a relatively large outer, and a smaller inner diameter to accommodate the particular' form of pawl employed. These pawls include a relatively large head portion that is freely mounted in thelarger outer end of the hole and a smaller inner diameter to engage the before mentioned shoulder `22. The pawls are loosely mounted inthe holes and are free to slide back and forth inthe holes. The inner ends of these pawls lare posi- Y tioned toalign with the before mentioned :j shouldered notch in the shaft, and to engage The inner end Vof the shaft is Y 'a pocket portion extending from the outer surface in spaced relation tothe inner end of said end-member and a reduced portion extending intocommunication with said axial hole, a shaft mounted in the Iroller andextending at one'en'd into said axialhole, and provided within said hole and in line with said radial passages with a notch cut therein, vsliding pawls engaged in said radial passages andV including a shouldered portion seating in said poclretportionanda reduced portion extendingthrough said reducedv portion of the passages and adapted to lengage said notch of the shaft, and a :torsional spring secured at one end to 'said' shaft and at its other end to 'one'ofsaid' end-members.

2. The invention as in claim 1, further characterized 1said p'awl-carryin'g endm'emb'er being of one-piece construction and provided at its inner end'with integral ears provided with passages therethrough to which'one end of the spring is secured.

l3. The inventionas in claim 1, further characterized by said pawl-carrying Vendmember being of one-piece constructionand provided in its outer 'cylindrical' vsurface "between each of said radial passages with longitudinal grooves extending outwardly from the inner end and provided at their outer ends with'leeper pockets, and a plurality of inwardly directed lugs in said roller adapted to'be Kengaged in said keeper pockets by forcibly sliding said end-member into engagement therewith.

ASignedatv Bridgeport in the county of Fairfield and-State vof Connecticut this 22nd day of March, A( D., v1922.Y

. THOMAS DIGNEY. vWitnesses C. M. NEWMAN, LILLIAN M. ALLING. 

